Cooling appliance

ABSTRACT

A cooling appliance, contains a water path component for supplying water and a circuit component for supplying electricity or transmitting a control signal. An isolation component is disposed between the water path component and the circuit component to mechanically isolate the water path component from the circuit component. The isolation component is disposed between the water path component and the circuit component, so that when water is leaked from the water path component, the leaked water is blocked by the isolation component from spraying and scattering or from splashing to the circuit component, avoiding adverse consequences of electric leakage or short circuits caused by undesired contact between the circuit component and the water.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit, under 35 U.S.C. § 119, of Chinesepatent application CN 201621270853.8, filed Nov. 25, 2016; the priorapplication is herewith incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of cooling technologies, andin particular, to a cooling appliance including a water path component.

German patent DE 112006000552, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 7,810,345,describes a cooling device with a liquid delivery system that is usedfor user equipment. The liquid delivery system has a protection system,to avoid an overflow resulting from possible liquid leakage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the present invention is to provide a cooling appliancethat can mechanically isolate a circuit component from a water pathcomponent having a potential water leakage threat, so that the circuitcomponent of the cooling appliance can be protected to a large extent,avoiding possible adverse consequences of electric leakage or shortcircuits.

The objective is achieved by the subject having the characteristicsdescribed in the independent claims. Beneficial embodiments of thepresent invention form the subject of the accompanying drawings, thespecification, and the dependent claims.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the objective isachieved by using a cooling appliance, including: a water path componentfor supplying water; and a circuit component for supplying electricityor transmitting a control signal. An isolation component is disposedbetween the water path component and the circuit component tomechanically isolate the water path component from the circuitcomponent.

Therefore, for example, an achieved technical advantage is as follows:The isolation component is disposed between the water path component andthe circuit component, so that when water is leaked from the water pathcomponent, the leaked water is blocked by the isolation component fromspraying and scattering or from splashing to the circuit component,avoiding adverse consequences of electric leakage or short circuitscaused by undesired contact between the circuit component and the water.

The cooling appliance should be construed as, especially, a householdcooling appliance, that is, a cooling appliance used for housekeeping inthe domestic or catering application. The cooling appliance isespecially used to store food and/or drinks at a particular temperature,for example, a refrigerator, a freezer, a fridge freezer, or a winecooler.

The water path component refers to, especially, a component for holdingor controlling flow of water in a water path system of the coolingappliance, for example, a water pipe, a switch, or various water valves.

The circuit component should be construed as a component in the coolingappliance for bearing electricity transmission, supplying electricity,or transmitting a control signal, and is especially an integrated or amodular component such as a power supply circuit board, a displaycircuit board, or a control circuit board.

In a preferred embodiment, the isolation component is configured as acover for at least partially covering the circuit component. Therefore,for example, achieved technical advantages are as follows: Water leakedfrom the water path component is blocked by the cover from coming intocontact with the circuit component. In addition, the cover needs tocover only a part or a surface of the circuit component that may be incontact with the leaked water rather than completely cover or wrap theentire circuit component.

In a preferred embodiment, the cover at least covers a part or a surfaceof the circuit component that may be in contact with water leaked fromthe water path component. Therefore, the cover does not need tocompletely cover or wrap the entire circuit component.

In a preferred embodiment, the cover is slidably installed on thecircuit component by using a guide mechanism, and the guide mechanismincludes a guide rib and a guide slot that cooperate with each other.Therefore, for example, achieved technical advantages are as follows:The guide mechanism facilitates the assembly of the cover to the circuitcomponent, and a production process is simple or the cover is easy toremove, facilitating maintenance of the circuit component.

In a preferred embodiment, the isolation component is configured as ahousing for at least partially surrounding the water path component.Therefore, for example, an achieved technical advantage is as follows:When water is leaked from the water path component, the water is blockedby the housing and kept inside the housing from coming into contact withthe circuit component.

In a preferred embodiment, the water path component includes a valvebody and a water pipe connected to the valve body, and the housing atleast surrounds a part connecting the valve body and the water pipe.Therefore, for example, an achieved technical advantage is as follows:The housing needs to surround and wrap only a part of the valve bodyfrom which water is easily leaked or a connecting point between thevalve body and the water pipe due to a high water leakage possibility ofthe connecting point rather than surround and wrap the entire water pipeor the valve body.

In a preferred embodiment, the valve body includes a functional valveand a check valve, and the check valve is serially connected to thefunctional valve by using the water pipe.

In a preferred embodiment, the housing includes a first housing and asecond housing buckled with each other.

In a preferred embodiment, the circuit component is connected to anexternal power source.

In a preferred embodiment, the water path component and the circuitcomponent are disposed in a same cavity.

In a preferred embodiment, the cavity serves as a compressor compartmentof the cooling appliance; a compressor, a fan, and a condenser of thecooling appliance are disposed in the compressor compartment; and thecircuit component is electrically connected to the compressor and thefan separately.

Other features which are considered as characteristic for the inventionare set forth in the appended claims.

Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodiedin a cooling appliance, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited tothe details shown, since various modifications and structural changesmay be made therein without departing from the spirit of the inventionand within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.

The construction and method of operation of the invention, however,together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be bestunderstood from the following description of specific embodiments whenread in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a simplified schematic diagram of a structure of arefrigerator representative of a common cooling appliance 100 accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a water path system of therefrigerator in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear view of a cavity in a refrigerator according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged perspective view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a separated cover from a circuitcomponent according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a housing surrounds a water pathcomponent according to the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the housing in FIG. 6 being divided intoa first housing and a second housing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following clearly and completely describes the technical solutionsin the embodiments of the present invention with reference to theaccompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention.Apparently, the described embodiments are merely some but not all of theembodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments obtained bya person of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of thepresent invention without creative efforts shall fall within theprotection scope of the present invention.

Referring now to the figures of the drawings in detail and first,particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown a simplified schematicdiagram of a structure of a refrigerator representative of a commoncooling appliance 100 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a water pathsystem of the refrigerator in FIG. 1. With reference to FIG. 1 and FIG.2, the refrigerator 100 is provided with the water path system. Watersupplied from an external water source flows into the refrigeratorthrough the pipeline 11, and the pipeline 11 is connected to theexternal water source by using a pipe connector 12. In this embodiment,the external water source is a tap. A peripheral pipeline (representedby a dashed line in FIG. 2) is connected to the tap, and then isconnected to the pipeline 11 by using the pipe connector 12. The waterflowing into the refrigerator is purified by a ventilation filter 13. Inthis embodiment, the ventilation filter 13 is disposed in arefrigeration compartment (not shown in the figures) of the refrigerator100.

Purified water flows into a check valve 31 through a water inlet pipe14, and then flows into a functional valve 15 through the water inletpipe 14. In an embodiment, the functional valve 15 is a water valvehaving one inlet and two outlets, and the functional valve 15 isconnected to two water outlet pipes, which are respectively a wateroutlet pipe 16 and a water outlet pipe 17. The water outlet pipe 16 isused to supply water to an ice-making machine 20, and the water outletpipe 17 is used to supply water to a water storage tank 24. In anembodiment, the water outlet pipe 16 is connected to an inlet nozzle 19by using a pipe joint 18, so that purified water may be supplied to theice-making machine 20 by using the inlet nozzle 19. In a specificembodiment, the inlet nozzle 19 is disposed in a freezing compartment ofthe refrigerator 100. The ice-making machine 20 includes an ice-makingunit 21 and an ice storage unit 22. A discharge outlet for dischargingice is disposed at a front end of the ice storage unit 22, and the icestorage unit 22 includes an ice discharge apparatus 23 for pushing theice to the discharge outlet. In a specific embodiment, the ice dischargeapparatus 23 includes a screw rod (not shown in the figures) and a motorfor driving the screw rod (not shown in the figures).

In an embodiment, the water outlet pipe 17 is directly connected to aninlet end of the water storage tank 24. In a specific embodiment, thewater storage tank 24 is disposed in the refrigeration compartment ofthe refrigerator 100, to store potable water that has been filtered. Inan embodiment, the water storage tank 24 is connected to a pipeline 25,and the pipeline 25 is connected to an outlet nozzle 27 by using a pipeconnector 26. The outlet nozzle 27 has a tail end disposed towards anallocation cavity of an allocator (not shown in the figures), toallocate water to an external container 28.

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a cavity 101 in arefrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. Thecavity 101 serves as a compressor compartment of the refrigerator. Thecompressor 102, a fan 103, a condenser 104, a part of a water pathcomponent 105, and a part of a circuit component 106 of the refrigeratorare all disposed in the cavity 101, to make full use of limited space ofthe refrigerator. The water path component 105 is mainly exemplified asvalve bodies and water pipes in FIG. 1 that hold or control flow ofwater such as the water inlet pipe 14, the check valve 31, thefunctional valve 15, the water outlet pipe 16, and the water outlet pipe17. The circuit component 106 especially serves as a power supplycircuit board connected to an external high pressure power source, andthe power supply circuit board is further connected to an electricalcomponent such as the compressor 102 or the fan 103, to supply highpressure electricity.

Because internal space of the cavity 101 is limited, the water pathcomponent 105 and the circuit component 106 are both disposed in thecavity 101 and are close to each other. Therefore, when water is leakedfrom the water path component 105, the leaked water is easy to spray andscatter to the circuit component 16 nearby, resulting in adverseconsequences of electric leakage or short circuits caused due to contactbetween the circuit component 16 and the water. This is also one of keytechnical problems to be resolved in the present invention.

To resolve the foregoing technical problem, an isolation component isdisposed between the water path component 105 and the circuit component106, to mechanically isolate the water path component 105 from thecircuit component 106 in the narrow space of the cavity 101. Therefore,the circuit component 106 cannot be in contact with the water leakedfrom the water path component 105.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged diagram of FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 4, ina possible embodiment, the isolation component is configured as a cover40 for at least partially covering the circuit component 106. Withreference to FIG. 5, the cover 40 mainly covers a part or a surface ofthe circuit component 106 exposed in an area to which the water leakedfrom the water path component 105 may spray or scatter. That is, thecover mainly covers a front surface 1061, a top surface 1062, a bottomsurface 1063, a left surface 1064, and the like of the circuit component106, to avoid, to the largest extent, a possibility of contact betweenthe circuit component 106 and the water leaked from the water pathcomponent 105.

In a process in which the cover 40 is covered on the circuit component106, the cover 40 is slidably installed on the circuit component 106 byusing a guide mechanism. The guide mechanism includes a guide rib 51 anda guide slot 52 that cooperate with each other. Specifically, the guiderib 51 is disposed on the circuit component 106, and the guide slot 52is provided on the cover 40. In a process in which the cover 40 isslidably installed on the circuit component 106, the guide rib 51 slidesinto the guide slot 52, and engagement with each other occurs, so thatthe cover 40 is installed on the circuit component 106 more easily or isremoved from the circuit component 106 more easily.

In another preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the isolationcomponent is configured as a housing 60 for at least partiallysurrounding the water path component 105. With reference to FIG. 7, inthis embodiment, the water path component 105 is mainly exemplified asvalve bodies and water pipes that hold or control flow of water such asthe water inlet pipe 14, the check valve 31, the functional valve 15,the water outlet pipe 16, and the water outlet pipe 17. The housing 60surrounds and wraps, especially, a connecting node between the waterinlet pipe 14 and the check valve 31, a connecting node between thewater inlet pipe 14 and the functional valve 15, or even a connectingnode between the functional valve 15 and the water outlet pipe 16 and aconnecting node between the functional valve 15 and the water outletpipe 17, because water leakage possibilities of the connecting nodes arethe largest. As long as these connecting nodes are accommodated in thehousing 60, even if water leakage occurs in these connecting nodes,leaked water is blocked by the housing 60 from coming into contact withthe circuit component 106 nearby. The housing 60 includes a firsthousing 61 and a second housing 62 buckled with each other, facilitatingthe installation of the housing 60 to the water path component 105.

The foregoing description of the disclosed embodiments enables a personskilled in the art to implement or use the present invention. Variousmodifications to the embodiments are obvious to the person skilled inthe art, and general principles defined in this specification may beimplemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit orscope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention willnot be limited to the embodiments described in this specification butextends to the widest scope that complies with the principles andnovelty disclosed in this specification.

Reference Numerals: 100: Cooling appliance; 101: Cavity; 102:Compressor; 103: Fan; 104: Condenser; 105: Water path component; 106:Circuit component; 1061: Front surface; 1062: Top surface; 1063: Bottomsurface; 1064: Left surface; 11: Pipeline; 12: Pipe connector; 13:Ventilation filter; 14: Water inlet pipe; 15: Functional valve; 16:Water outlet pipe; 17: Water outlet pipe; 18: Pipe joint; 19: Inletnozzle; 20: Ice-making machine; 21: Ice-making unit; 22: Ice storageunit; 23: Ice discharge apparatus; 24: Water storage tank; 25: Pipeline;26: Pipe connector; 27: Outlet nozzle; 28: External container; 31: Checkvalve; 40: Cover; 51: Guide rib; 52: Guide slot; 60: Housing; 61: Firsthousing; 62: Second housing

1. A cooling appliance, comprising: a water path component for supplyingwater; a circuit component for supplying electricity or transmitting acontrol signal; and an isolation component disposed between said waterpath component and said circuit component to mechanically isolate saidwater path component from said circuit component.
 2. The coolingappliance according to claim 1, wherein said isolation component is acover for at least partially covering said circuit component.
 3. Thecooling appliance according to claim 2, wherein said cover at leastcovers a part or a surface of said circuit component that may be incontact with the water leaked from said water path component.
 4. Thecooling appliance according to claim 2, further comprising a guidemechanism, said cover is slidably installed on said circuit component byusing said guide mechanism, and said guide mechanism has a guide rib anda guide slot formed therein that cooperate with each other.
 5. Thecooling appliance according to claim 1, wherein said isolation componentis configured as a housing for at least partially surrounding said waterpath component.
 6. The cooling appliance according to claim 5, whereinsaid water path component contains a valve body and a water pipeconnected to said valve body, said housing at least surrounds a partconnecting said valve body and said water pipe.
 7. The cooling applianceaccording to claim 6, wherein said valve body contains a functionalvalve and a check valve, said check valve is serially connected to saidfunctional valve by using said water pipe.
 8. The cooling applianceaccording to claim 5, wherein said housing contains a first housing anda second housing buckled with each other.
 9. The cooling applianceaccording to claim 1, wherein said circuit component is connected to anexternal power source.
 10. The cooling appliance according to claim 1,further comprising a cavity and said water path component and saidcircuit component are both disposed in said cavity.
 11. The coolingappliance according to claim 10, further comprising a compressor, a fan,and a condenser; wherein said cavity serves as a compressor compartmentof the cooling appliance; wherein said compressor, said fan, and saidcondenser are disposed in said compressor compartment; and said circuitcomponent is electrically connected to said compressor and said fanseparately.